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My Memoirs - Citizen of the World

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<strong>the</strong> family and <strong>the</strong>ir children who taught us about <strong>the</strong> rich history<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> first family <strong>of</strong> Christchurch. The next morning we traversed<br />

<strong>the</strong> countryside to New Zealand’s Queenstown to Mt. Cook<br />

National Park. Mt. Cook is one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> most impressive mountains<br />

in <strong>the</strong> world. I took a helicopter ride to <strong>the</strong> top <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> mountain to<br />

see <strong>the</strong> home <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> highest mountains with skyscraping peaks,<br />

glaciers and permanent snow fields. It was <strong>the</strong>re that Sir Edmund<br />

Hillary developed his climbing skills in preparation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> conquest<br />

<strong>of</strong> Mount Everest. I stopped for a moment and thought to myself,<br />

walking on <strong>the</strong> glaciers and observing <strong>the</strong> incredible view. “Is this<br />

real?” I felt I was on top <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> world. What an incredible<br />

experience…<br />

We spent <strong>the</strong> night in a typical hotel and left <strong>the</strong> next morning on a<br />

cruise <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> breathtaking Milford Sound and saw, with our own<br />

eyes, why <strong>the</strong> fjords are <strong>the</strong> most visited sites on New Zealand’s<br />

South Island, with rock faces that rise nearly 4000 feet on ei<strong>the</strong>r<br />

side. It was raining a lot and <strong>the</strong> tour guide said that we were very<br />

lucky, because it was very unusual to observe so many magnificent<br />

fjords. We also took a tour to <strong>the</strong> Safari <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Rings that led us to<br />

<strong>the</strong> site where <strong>the</strong> famous movie “Lord <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Rings” was filmed.<br />

We went back to Christchurch and travelled up <strong>the</strong> winding coast<br />

to Picton, where we boarded <strong>the</strong> Interisland Ferry through <strong>the</strong><br />

Marlborough Sound and crossed <strong>the</strong> Cook Strait, and arrived that<br />

evening in <strong>the</strong> capital city <strong>of</strong> Wellington. The next morning we<br />

toured Wellington, New Zealand’s Parliament and o<strong>the</strong>r sites and<br />

<strong>the</strong>n continued on to Rotorua, which was <strong>the</strong> highlight <strong>of</strong> our trip<br />

to <strong>the</strong> Nor<strong>the</strong>rn Island. Being born on a volcanic island <strong>of</strong> St.<br />

Miguel in <strong>the</strong> Azores with a few small hot springs, my wife and I<br />

were amazed by <strong>the</strong> landscape and <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong> geysers,<br />

bubbling mud pools and o<strong>the</strong>r geo<strong>the</strong>rmal wonders for miles. It<br />

was so large that <strong>the</strong> entire city’s energy is supplied by <strong>the</strong> heat<br />

from <strong>the</strong> geysers and hot springs. I remember seeing <strong>the</strong> front and<br />

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